Question:medium

Consider the resolution of the domain name www.gate.org.in by a DNS resolver. Assume that no resource records are cached anywhere across the DNS servers and that the iterative query mechanism is used in the resolution. The number of DNS query-response pairs involved in completely resolving the domain name is \(\underline{\hspace{1cm}}\).

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In an iterative query mechanism, each part of the domain name is resolved step-by-step by querying different DNS servers.
Updated On: Jan 30, 2026
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Correct Answer: 4

Solution and Explanation

In resolving the domain name \( \text{www.gate.org.in} \), the DNS resolution process follows an iterative query mechanism involving multiple DNS servers arranged hierarchically.

Step-by-step resolution:

1. The resolver first sends a DNS query for \( \text{www.gate.org.in} \) to a root DNS server. The root server does not know the IP address but returns a referral to the .in top-level domain (TLD) servers.

2. The resolver then queries a .in TLD DNS server. The .in server responds with a referral to the authoritative DNS servers for the org.in domain.

3. Next, the resolver queries the org.in authoritative DNS server. This server provides a referral to the authoritative DNS server responsible for the gate.org.in domain.

4. Finally, the resolver queries the gate.org.in authoritative DNS server, which returns the IP address corresponding to \( \text{www.gate.org.in} \).

Each query followed by its corresponding response constitutes one DNS query–response pair.

Total number of DNS query–response pairs: \[ \boxed{4} \]
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